The Zupper Club takes its letter seriously: Molly picked Max as the restaurant, Mike ordered a Meatball the size of his Melon, Matt Rivitz joined as special guest, and Rollman and Magnusson Made out!
I have been to Max once before in the summer, and enjoyed the seasonal fare, but was so close the person next to me, I could barely concentrate on my food. Maybe it's because we were in a big group, but the experience this time was a little more roomy, cozy and enjoyable. The food was just as delicious, maybe even more so. We started with garlic bread and the prosciutto and mozzarella plate. The bread is not for the garlic feint of heart and the prosciutto was melt in your mouth-salty-porky goodness. Several serious zupperites ordered the signature dish - lasagna. Each dish came baked in a crock, bubbling over with molten magma-like tomato sauce and cheese. It was simply wonderful - layers of thick noodles and meaty, fresh tomato sauce. The food was so authentic, you'd imagine a plump, old Italian woman was in the back, rolling out the noodles with Pavarotti serenading her in the background. To the contrary, what we found in the kitchen turned out to be two short, hairy Mexican men shouting at each other over a large flame (see pic). *Word of caution about the lasagna - the surface of the sun isn't nearly as hot as this dish. Watch out before digging in.
The winning dish of the night belonged to Mike (although, ask him 4 hours later and he may not have agreed. actually, ask his wife 8 hours later and she definitely wouldn't have agreed). First of all, the size of it rivaled a ten pound bowling ball. Then after deconstructing the m'ball, and several arguments over whether the thick white center (that was wrapped in prosciutto) was cheese or a hard boiled egg, Mike was able to dig in and enjoy. And to his delight (or to his later chagrin) we discovered it was in fact both an egg and a ball of cheese. Wow.
Max turned out to be the perfect spot to get out of the cold, drink some wine and eat some Italian on the cheap. And we can't end this without mentioning that M was a Monumental night in that it marked our one year anniversary of the A-Zupper dining club. We've eaten together, every month, consistently now for 12 months. Now, only 14 months to go. Easy, cheesy.
